NBA notebook: Parker joins hometown Bulls, with Bucks' help

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Free agent forward Jabari Parker signed a reported two-year deal worth $40 million with the Chicago Bulls on Saturday afternoon, not long after Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Horst rescinded the team’s qualifying offer to Parker.

The four-year NBA veteran is a Chicago native who was the high school National Player of the Year while starring at Simeon Career Academy. The Bulls cleared roster space by releasing guard Julyan Stone and forward Paul Zipser.

“Jabari is a 23-year-old player who is a natural fit with our young core, and is a proven scorer at the NBA level,” general manager Gar Forman said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming him back to his hometown.”

The Bucks were never expected to match any offer sheet Parker would have signed with the Bulls, but according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, rescinding the offer sheet was a “good-faith gesture” that allowed Parker to negotiate a shorter deal with Chicago.

—Channing Frye reportedly is heading back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he earned a championship ring in 2016.

Frye, 35, has agreed to a one-year, $2.4 million deal to return to the Cavaliers, according to multiple reports. The 6-foot-11 center started last season with Cleveland but was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 8 as part of a deal that sent Jordan Clarkson and Larry Nance Jr. to the Cavaliers.

Frye averaged 5.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game last season, playing 44 games with the Cavs and nine with the Lakers. He shot 33.9 percent from 3-point range, down from 40.9 percent the year before.

—Free agent guard Shabazz Napier celebrated his 27th birthday by agreeing to sign a two-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, according to an ESPN report.

Per the report, the second year of the contract is a team option. Terms of the deal are unknown.

Napier spent the last two seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, posting career highs almost across the board last year. He averaged 8.7 points, 2.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 20.7 minutes per game across 74 appearances, including 10 starts. He also boosted his 3-point accuracy (37.6 percent), bringing his career average to 36.3 percent.